Kyklos, the Lab of InCommOn, is the first initiative in Greece to open a public dialogue about the relationship of the circular economy with urban reality and strives to observe and understand, in practice, how a neighborhood – the ‘cell’ of a city – can become ‘circular’. We investigate ideas to work towards making our neighbourhood more green, clean and sustainable and attempt to tackle the root causes as well as the consequences of the climate crisis through local, small-scale, community-based actions.

Making the most of all available resources, whether natural or material, while keeping a human-based approach /, we promote and practice the values and practices of circular economy. In contrast to the dominant linear economy model (take-make-consume-dispose), the circular economy is inspired by biological circles and is based on a dynamic cycle of use and regeneration that leaves nothing and no-one out. In this way, we seek to minimise resource waste and the environmental, economic and social impacts of our current way of life. We develop and improve daily life by finding creative solutions to shared local problems, on a collective and individual level by working with the community and all stakeholders (residents, businesses, institutions etc).

The KaFsimo project is InCommOn’s innovative, participative coffee recycling scheme which aims to change the public’s habits around organic waste, and recycle ‘used’ coffee. It is the first participatory coffee recycling project in Greece.

KaFsimo’s aim and vision is to encourage a behavioral change around the use, reuse and disposal of organic waste, through active citizenship; in particular to prepare the public for the correct use of organic waste brown bins so that organic household waste is turned into compost.

Kafsimo implements a process through which not only will the ‘waste’ be transformed into a useful material (compost), but it will also reduce the amount of organic waste dumped in landfill and will necessitate separation of the organic materials from others (e.g. packaging), which can then be recycled separately. At the same time, the project collects used coffee grounds from a network of coffee shops as well as household spent coffee grounds and aims to utilise this residue by transforming it from waste into raw material for the production of bioenergy (to heat buildings) or land fertilizer. In this way, the ‘coffee circle’ is closed at a local level.

FoodTreasure is an educational project that familiarizes the whole school community with the sector of the circular economy through the case study of food and food waste, elements common to everyone. It aims to make learning about organic waste issues not only fun and interactive, but also formative in changing habits and introducing life-long ecological behaviors.

Showcase project -based at the based at the Urban Sustainability & Circularity Lab -through which issues such as food costs, food waste, use of fossil fuels, the need for a green economy and the economic viability of an environmentally sustainable business will be discussed, publicised and addressed.

Bringing the circular economy into the school community! InCommOn’s school competitions-approved by the Ministry of Education- invites students (aged 6-18) across Greece (from public and private schools) to explore and discover the principles of the circular economy and create ideas for practical ways in which their schools can become more circular!

During the years 2016-2018, social housing was provided for refugees and homeless people in Evosmos, Thessaloniki. The project was based on the model of co-habitation, which involved participatory planning, inclusive decision-making and co-implementation of ideas and plans, combining an eco-friendly perspective with the minimal carbon footprint, utilising waste management systems and promoting environmental education activities. For more information, visit filoxenia.incommon.gr

During the years 2017 and 2018, Filoxenia operated a Community Centre in Evosmos, Thessaloniki, with educational, cultural and environmental activities for all ages, designed and implemented by and for the users of the centre.

In 2017, Filoxenia organised and carried out Daily Mobile Actions to raise awareness and inform citizens of Northern Greece about immigration due to economic, political and environmental factors.

The BioRural project is working to develop a transitional framework towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and circular Bioeconomy across all Europe and to support innovators to introduce small-scale bio-based solutions in rural areas. BioRural is set to bridge the gap between available bio-based innovations and European citizens’ everyday life. The project promotes the exchange of knowledge and investigates the business opportunities for rural development. In total, 19 partners,...

The COM-Circular Organic Management is an ERASMUS+ project that aims to support the behavioral change in schools around food and organic waste.